To realize the benefits of their significant investments in technology software and support applications, health plans must transform their core information technology systems.
While out-of-date information technology (IT) platforms woven together through a series of patches and work arounds present many challenges today, updating to a more modern platform without proper planning will not lead to desired results. It requires careful planning around personnel, processes and tools.
Tasks take longer than they should
Existing systems do not support anticipated business needs
Maintenance of the existing system requires a significant financial investment
As you consider a major IT core system transformation, taking stock of the following six items will help achieve results and proactively address challenges.
Get ahead of employee frustration and identify how roles will change. Seek out change agents who can encourage employee buy-in and work to resolve unexpected challenges that arise.
Put in place a governance structure that includes dedicated project stakeholders and managers who are committed to a project from a technology perspective and have the skills to lead.
Evaluate your technology strategies to assess current and future needs. This should include a thorough understanding of your desired project outcomes and goals and what tools and processes will meet these.
IT systems that don’t operate on the latest platforms often pull from disparate data sources that aren’t easily connected.
Align stakeholders around the need to do things right and implement a standardized, sustainable process which will yield results for years to come.
Before the project begins, post-implementation planning should be considered. This will allow any tools or support processes such as error reporting to be configured into the initial system build.
Look at your organization’s IT infrastructure and assess whether improvement is needed. If it is, determine if now is the appropriate time.
Identify key stakeholders and create alignment around the initiative. Develop a plan of action beyond implementation.
Build a more efficient and effective IT infrastructure that generates a return on investment and leads to a better employee experience.
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